WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart announced Wednesday the hiring of Ryan O'Connor as Head Cheerleading Coach and Spirit Program Coordinator.
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O'Connor comes to The Hill from Ole Miss, where she served as head cheer coach and mascot coordinator. At WKU, she will be the head coach for the All-Girl and Coed Cheer squads, as well as oversee operations and financials for the Topperettes and Mascot Program in coordination with their coaches.
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"I am so excited to be returning back home to Kentucky where cheerleading is in our blood," O'Connor said. "I am looking forward to coaching the WKU Spirit Programs and becoming a part of the Hilltopper community."
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"We are very excited to announce Ryan O'Connor as our new Head Cheer Coach and Spirit Program Coordinator," Stewart said. "The addition of someone with her experience at the highest level leading programs who compete annually for national championships marks a huge step forward for our program. Ryan and her family will be a tremendous addition to our Athletics staff and the Bowling Green community."
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A native of Lexington, Ky., O'Connor began her cheer career as a five-time KAPOS state champion and five-time National High School Cheerleading Champion (UCA) as a team member at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
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She was a cheerleader at the University of Kentucky from 2008-09 and then at the University of Alabama from 2009-12, where she was a 2011 UCA College National Champion and graduated in 2012.
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She was also a part of Team USA Coed in 2011 and 2012 (ICU Gold Medalist) and Team USA All-Girl in 2013 (ICU Gold Medalist).
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O'Connor was previously the spirit coordinator at UAB, where her squads produced four top-10 finishes at UCA College Nationals and in group stunt.
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At Ole Miss, her All-Girl team claimed a Gameday National Championship, as well as two third-place finishes, and a fourth-place finish and a seventh-place result in the D1A Division. In Coed, her squads finished third and fourth in Gameday, and seventh and 10th in the DIA Division. Other notable highlights included Group Stunts (4th, 7th place) and Partner Stunts (10th, 11th place).
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O'Connor and her husband Kyle have one son, Michael.
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